Relapse Prevention: How to Relax with Imagery

But if you’re in recovery and fighting to avoid relapse,
knowing a few effective de-stressing techniques can make the difference between
continuing sobriety and an emotion-driven return to drinking or drugs.
Not to get melodramatic here – but for those in recovery,
relaxation exercises can be literal lifesavers.

So take a few minutes now to read through the steps and
experiment with imagery for yourself. It doesn’t take long to learn but you
will get better with practice – in fact with enough practice, some people can
escape to serene relaxation just by thinking of a certain word or image.

Start off by finding a place where you feel relaxed, safe
and comfortable – someplace where no one will come in and disturb you for a few
minutes.

Sit comfortably in a chair and close your eyes. Concentrate
on taking slow and deep breaths.

When you feel ready, scan your body from your feet to the
top of your head looking for any kind of tension. When you feel tension, try to
relax it completely, imagining that you expel the tension with each slow
exhalation.

Now, imagine a place where you feel great – safe,
comfortable and at ease. It can be a place that you know well or a place from
your imagination. Examples could be a secluded tropical beach, a place from
your childhood or even a place you’ve only seen on TV or in a book.

Picture yourself in this environment. If you imagine a
tropical beach, imagine yourself laying on the sand or in the lapping surf.
Try to bring all of your senses into the experience. What does the sand feel
like? Imagine the warmth on your skin. What does the air smell like? Try to
smell the tropical plants and the smell of the sea. What do you hear? Try to imagine
the sound of the waves and birds. What are the colors like? Try to picture the
blue of the sky and the turquoise of the water.

Enjoy some time in this peaceful place. What do you call it?
By giving it a name, you’ll find it easier to return to this relaxation simply
by recalling the name and the images you associate with this name.

Stay within the scene you’ve created until you feel calm.
When ready to leave, take a moment to transition slowly back to the ‘real
world’ – keeping your eyes closed for another moment and continuing to breathe
slowly and deeply.

Though imagery exercises don’t always come naturally, with a
little practice and persistence, you’ll find they offer a pretty immediate
antidote to the stresses of early recovery – and of life in general.

Helpful Reading:

Coping cards filled with coping statements can help you trade negative self talk with healthier, more positive replacements. Writing coping cards is an easy, no-cost intervention that might just help you. Read on to learn how to get started.

Some basic facts about relapse, why a slip never needs to mean the end of a recovery or that treatment has failed, what to do if you slip (right away) and how to reduce your odds of relapse in the first place.

Could 10 minutes a day save your life? You can’t avoid stress, but if you’re smart, you can use techniques like ‘the relaxation response’ to offset the chronic health consequences. Read on to learn how to get started…